Charles e



N0. 6l4, 072. I Patented Nov, I5, 1898.

c. E. BALDWIN.

GATE LATCH.

, (Application Med Jan. 24, 1898.)

(No Model.)

i 1 I Z N Him. V NW i1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. BALDWIN, OF MIAMI, INDIAN TERRITORY.

GATE-LATCH.

SPECIFIGATION fQrming part of Letters Patent No. 614,072, dated November 15, 1898.

Application filed January 24:, 1893- gerial No. 667,740. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Miami, in the Indian Territory, have invented a new and useful Gate-Latch, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in gate-latches.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of gate-latches and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one which will possess strength and durability and which will be capable of automatically looking a gate when the same is closed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch adapted to enable a gate to open in both directions and capable of affordinga support for the same and of being easily operated to release the gate.

The invention consists in the construction and novelcombination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a latch constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of the face-plate. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the plate and the stud of the gate.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a casing having a back plate 2, provided with an integral flange 3, forming the top and sides of the casing, and the side portions 4: terminate opposite the center of the plate for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

The casing, which is provided with a removable face-plate 5, receives a pair of rings 6, which are supported on studs 7 of the casing and which bear against the lower ends of the side portionsl of the'flange 3, whereby their outward movement is limited. By arranging the rings in this manner a stud 8, which is carried by a gate, is'adapted to lift the rings readily in entering the casing; but the side portions 4 of the flange 3 form stops and positively hold the rings against outward movement.

When the stud 8, which is .formed integral with a plate 9, is arranged within the casing, it is supported upon a curved flange 10, located at the bottom of the casing and forming oppositely-inclining portions.

The rings are located at opposite ends of the casing, and the latch is adapted to permit a gate in opening to swing in either direction, and the rings are lifted out of engagement with the stud 8 by means of an operating-lever 11, fulcrumed at its center on a pivot 12 and connected with the rings by rods 13. The

lever, which is horizontal, is provided at opposite sides of its pivot with slots 14 to receive the upper ends of the rods,'which are provided at'their tops with heads. The rods are provided at their lower ends with arms 15, arranged within and adapted to engage the inner periphery of the rings. The back plate is provided with suitable grooves or ways for guiding the rods, and the slots are of sufficient length to permit the necessary play of the lever without binding against the rods. By this arrangement either ring may be lifted from either side of the gate, so that a gate maybe swung to or from the operator.

The face-plate is detachably secured to the back plate, and it serves to retain the rings on the studs 7 of the casing, and when the face-plate is removed the rings may be readily taken from the studs 7 or placed thereon.

The invention has the following advantages: The latch, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, possesses great strength and durability, and while it is automatical in its locking action it is easily operated to release the gate, and either of the rings may be lifted from either side of a gate, so that the gate may be opened to or from the operator. The curved flange at the bottom of the casing forms a support for a gate and relieves the hinges of strain.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. A'device of the class described, comprising a casing, locking-rings supported within the casing and adapted to engage a stud or projection of a gate, and a horizontal operattop of the gate and connected with each of the their lower ends with arms arranged within 10 the rings and adapted to lift the same, said rods having their upper ends passing through the slots of the lever and engaging the same, substantially as described.

CHARLES E. BALDWIN. Witnesses:

ALBERT L. KENT, W. E. RoNsEY. 

